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Alumni
Ramping up production of anti-Covid drugs As Chairman of Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla, alumnus Dr Yusuf Hamied is increasing the production of remdesivir and other anti-Covid-19 treatments for millions of sufferers. There is no known cure for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, but several antiviral and corticosteroid drugs have been shown to be effective in alleviating symptoms and reducing mortality.
At a time when there are worries that the US has bought up virtually all the available stocks of remdesivir, Hamied says that Cipla could manufacture enough for up to 30,000 injections a week and build up stocks to between one and two million. Cipla’s version, called Cipremi, is also affordable. Hamied says that the price in India is approximately $50 per injection, whereas in America it may be up to 8–10 times this.
The issue as Hamied sees it, is that there is a world-wide shortage of the availability of many of these drugs, and some are prohibitively expensive. “The problem is the shortages and the expense,” he says. For example, Cipla is licensed to distribute Actemra in India, manufactured by Roche, “but it is expensive.” Cipla has been increasing its production of potentially beneficial drug treatments and supplements at humanitarian prices.
Hamied is also happy that Gilead has granted the remdesivir voluntary licence to five other Indian pharmaceutical companies. “I don’t like the words ‘exclusive’ and I don’t like the words ‘monopoly’,” he says. “So there are half a dozen other Indian companies also making the same drug, which is good for the size of our country and for treating the pandemic.”
Cipla has recently been licensed to manufacture and market remdesivir in 130 countries. Remdesivir is an antiviral drug developed by the American biopharmaceutical company Gilead, which was approved for Covid-19 treatment by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October. Hamied says: “Hats off to companies like Gilead, who have given us a voluntary licence for the duration of the pandemic and beyond.”
Hamied is all for approaching Covid-19 with a wide range of prevention, treatments and supplements. “My stand is that every individual who gets Covid is a different case. This depends on their age and pre-existing health conditions. Every person is different and will respond differently.” Because of this view, Cipla is manufacturing and marketing a variety of corticosteroids, neubulisers and inhalers, and antiviral drugs that may be useful in treating Covid symptoms.
“Hats off to companies like Gilead, who have given us a voluntary licence for the duration of the pandemic and beyond.” “There are a lot of drugs which can be beneficially used as either treatments or supplements to treatments,” says Hamied.. “For example, one of the side-effects of Covid is breathlessness, so a lot of the anti-asthma drugs are being used.” He points out that Gilead is also working on developing a version of remdesivir that can be inhaled by neubulisation.
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